Buying Online Turns Brits Into Car Insurance Experts

NEWPORT, Wales, June 30, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

- New Study Finds That Drivers Know More About Their Cover Than Ever Before and That for the Vast Majority Price is NOT Their Only Consideration

It's official. British drivers feel much better informed about their car insurance now they buy it online and just 14 per cent say they buy a policy on price alone.

According to new research commissioned by Gocompare.com, the vast majority of UK drivers take more information into account than just the car insurance premium and 42 per cent say that they know more about the features and excesses of their policies now they buy it online than when they used to telephone insurers for quotes or go to local brokers.

Less than 1 in 10 (8.5 per cent) of the 2030 drivers who took part in the survey said they knew more about their policy when they used to arrange it over the phone and just 1 in 20 (5.5 per cent) felt better informed when they bought it through a broker. 11 per cent of respondents have only ever bought their car insurance online.

These results will come as a surprise to those who suggest that consumers only look at the price when comparing insurance online rather than considering the cover the different policies provide.

However, despite over half (52 per cent) of UK consumers feeling that financial companies do not reward loyalty, less than 1 in 4 (23 per cent) regularly compare their financial products to ensure they are getting the best deal and 6 per cent NEVER check them once they've set them up. Ignorance may be bliss, but it may also be expensive.

Gocompare also warns that more drivers should take better notice of their car insurance renewal document for increases in premiums and reductions in cover. The study found that only 1 in 3 drivers (32 per cent) check their renewal documents carefully for changes and 38 per cent assume that if they simply renew their existing insurance they will have the same cover they had last time. But this often isn't the case.

22 per cent of drivers have noticed that their excesses seem to be increasing and 22 per cent have noticed that cover they expected to be standard has become an optional extra.

Lee Griffin, of Gocompare.com commented, "It's so important that drivers make an informed choice about the cover they need rather than simply choosing on price so it's great to see that UK consumers now feel much more knowledgeable about the car insurance they buy. This research shows that drivers feel they now have a much greater understanding and awareness of cover levels and excesses than when they used to buy it over the phone or through a local broker and that can only be a good thing.

"But drivers who don't routinely shop around at their renewal and don't read their renewal notices carefully, could be missing out on considerable savings and may be unaware of their excesses increasing or their cover shrinking. Gocompare customers save on average £320* by shopping around for their car insurance and important information such as excesses, standard cover and optional extras are all displayed clearly when they run a comparison. Only 36 per cent of consumers switched their car insurer in the last 12 months which means that potentially millions of pounds of savings are being paid to insurers instead of staying in driver's pockets."

Notes to Editors:

Research commissioned by Gocompare.com.  Carried out with 2,030 UK drivers in May 2011 by OnePoll Research.

Gocompare.com asked whether consumers had switched any of the following 20 common financial products - car Insurance, home Insurance, travel Insurance, pet Insurance, van Insurance, mortgage, credit card, personal loan, bank account, ISA, savings account, motorbike insurance, caravan insurance, broadband provider, mobile phone, land line, energy provider, life insurance, income protection, critical illness.

*£323.63 - Based on online independent research by Consumer Intelligence from 01 April 2011 to 30 April 2011, 35% of consumers could achieve this saving with Gocompare.com home insurance.

Gocompare.com launched in November 2006 to help people find the right insurance cover at the right price.  It was founded by Hayley Parsons who has worked her entire career in the insurance broking and aggregator markets and was the first comparison site to focus on displaying product features rather than just listing prices.  It was this philosophy that led to Gocompare.com becoming the first price comparison site to be invited to join the British Insurance Brokers Association (BIBA) in May 2008 and helped force older comparison sites to change their 'quick quote' ways and stop using assumptions to calculate estimated figures.

Today, Gocompare.com provides one of the most comprehensive online car insurance comparison services in the UK as well as comparing home, pet, motorbike, van insurance and breakdown cover. 

Gocompare.com is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

For further information please contact:
Lynsey Walden or Anders Nilsson at Gocompare.com on +44(0)1633-654-055 / +44(0)1633-657-599
Gordon, Jason or Liz at MAW Communications on +44(0)1603-505-845
Rebecca Jones, +44(0)1633-654-733 Rebecca.Jones@GoCompare.com